Development of the Digital Competences of Students in the Republic of Serbia – Digital Literacy in Preuniversity Education

Abstract

he Serbian Education Development Strategy 2020 (Ministry of Education Science and Technological Development, 2012) has set the basis for the promotion of the electronic and distance learning in all levels of education, from preschool, across higher, up until lifelong learning. The first Soft Policy Paper Guidelines for Advancing the Integration of Information-Communication Technologies in Education, adopted by the National Education Council of the Republic of Serbia 2013, broadly discussed digital education based on the result of a yearlong comprehensive research and discussion. The document has presented an abundance of quantitative and qualitative data that reflect the current level of development and the application of ICT within the system of elementary and secondary education in Serbia. Major impact of all the ICT-related policies flourished in 2017 when the course of Informatics and Programming was introduced in primary education at the fifth grade (students age 11) as a mandatory school subject. This initiative presents one of the main pillars for the development of digital competences of students within the Serbian educational system. Since then, 250 thousand students have been introduced to Digital Literacy and Coding.